Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546315
12 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 AUGUST 2026 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt 35-home Tattingers site project faces excavation concerns A 35-home residential devel- opment on Saqqajja Hill in Ra- bat is being recommended for approval by a case officer, but works cannot begin even if the Planning Board gives the pro- ject the green light until major concerns over the site's deep excavation are addressed. The Planning Board is due to take a final decision on 1 October. The development is proposed on the former Tattingers night- club site, which closed in 2018, and involves demolishing the existing buildings and replac- ing them with a stepped resi- dential complex. Full development application PA/05452/24 was filed by Mdi- na Property Ltd, represented by Dominic Micallef, and designed by architect Jesmond Mugli- ett. The site covers around 5,300sq.m and includes the for- mer Tattingers Club, Rainbow Apartments and properties along Telgħa tas-Saqqajja and Triq tal-Infetti. The plans provide for 35 homes, including apartments with one, two and three bed- rooms, as well as the restora- tion of the abandoned Villa San Clemente. The scheme also includes a small office, residents' gym and spa and around 65 under- ground parking spaces. It is the excavation required to create the two basement lev- els, however, that has emerged as one of the project's main concerns. The site sits above the histor- ic Notabile railway tunnel, a Grade 1 scheduled monument, meaning that excavation for the underground garages and other facilities would take place in an area of significant archaeologi- cal and structural sensitivity. The project involves substan- tial underground excavation, with two basement floors be- neath the main building for 65 cars, utilities and circulation, as well as a 730-cubic-metre rain- water reservoir. A lower services tunnel would also be excavated beneath Triq tal-Infetti, while foundations require further digging. Giv- en the historic railway tunnel beneath the site, unstable clay and archaeological sensitivity, no excavation can begin until a detailed works method state- ment and geotechnical report are approved. The Mdina Local Council has objected because the applica- tion did not provide sufficient structural and geotechnical ev- idence showing that the deep excavation would not compro- mise the tunnel. Responding to representations that exca- vations pose a physical threat to surrounding properties and Mdina's bastions, the case of- ficer noted that the contain- ment of structural impacts relies on good construction practices, which are the legal responsibility of the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the developer's ar- chitect (Perit) The concern is compounded by the geological conditions beneath the site. The area con- tains clay strata which can be unstable, raising questions not only about the tunnel but also about surrounding properties and the nearby bastions of Mdi- na. The case officer is recom- mending approval, but the per- mit would remain non-execut- able until these concerns are addressed. The developers will have to obtain approval from the Su- perintendence of Cultural Heritage for a detailed Works Method Statement and a com- prehensive geotechnical report before excavation can proceed. These are intended to demon- strate how the works can be carried out without compro- mising the scheduled tunnel, archaeological remains or the stability of the surrounding ar- ea. The excavation issue is not the only concern surrounding the project. A landscape assessment found that the development would have a major negative visual impact when seen from the Saqqajja junction and a mod- erate-to-major negative im- pact from Triq il-Belt Valletta. Other viewpoints also recorded moderate negative impacts. The developers have sought to reduce the impact by lower- ing the building slightly, setting back upper floors and incorpo- rating landscaping, but the as- sessment's overall impact rat- ings remained unchanged. The site itself is particularly sensitive. It lies within an Ur- ban Conservation Area, partly within a Category 1 Rural Set- tlement and outside the devel- opment zone. It is also within an archaeologically important area and an Area of High Land- scape Value, while facing the scheduled fortifications of Mdina. The proposal follows the col- lapse of an earlier attempt to develop the site as a hotel. An 81-room hotel had previously been approved under appli- cation PA/08732/18, but the permission was annulled by the Court of Appeal in 2023 after the court found that new tourist accommodation was not allowed under the applicable planning policies. The current proposal instead consists mainly of residential development, which the case officer considers compatible with the area's residential sta- tus. Transport Malta has al- so raised concerns about the proposed access to the un- derground garages from the Saqqajja junction, where ve- hicles approach on a steep gradient and at relatively high speeds. The Environment and Re- sources Authority has raised no objection subject to conditions, while the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage withdrew its objection after an upper pedes- trian tunnel was removed from the plans. A lower service tun- nel remains proposed. Despite the outstanding is- sues, the case officer argues that replacing the former nightclub with residential development would improve the Urban Con- servation Area and is recom- mending a grant of permission. But the approval would effec- tively be conditional on proving that the excavation can be car- ried out safely. The project therefore faces a crucial test before construc- tion can begin: demonstrat- ing that digging deep into the site to create the underground parking will not undermine a scheduled historic tunnel, dest- abilise surrounding land or put Mdina's historic fortifications at risk. Photomontage of proposed development when approaching Rabat from Triq it-Tigrija